At this year’s Hannover Messe, tech giant Siemens revealed plans to develop a web-based collaborative platform for on-demand product design and 3D printing. Available to manufacturers and buyers worldwide, the new system will use Siemens product lifecycle management software to share additive manufacturing expertise and maximize resource utilization. It should facilitate coordination between parts buyers and micro-factories, enabling users to order 3D printed components from anywhere around the globe. Its collaborative features will be designed to streamline co-innovation. The initiative responds to a growing desire for on-demand industrial manufacturing, and will link designers, job shops, purchasing agents, 3D printing firms, materials suppliers and others into an online community. A Siemens statement indicated that “By exchanging information and practical knowledge, [community] members will have the opportunity to enhance productivity, increase expertise, streamline co-innovation and accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing technology to a new level of industrial use.”